Building Community: Nissan Foundation awards $1.2 million in grants to 44 nonprofits celebrating the value of our differences

The Nissan Foundation is awarding $1.2 million in grants to 44 nonprofits promoting cultural understanding that leads to acceptance and appreciation of our differences. This is the most the Foundation has awarded in a single grant cycle. Grant recipients are based in communities surrounding Nissan facilities in Southern California, Middle Tennessee, Central Mississippi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Southeast Michigan,  New York City, North Central New Jersey, and Atlanta.

The Nissan Foundation has awarded approximately $17 million to more than 150 nonprofits since its founding in 1992. The Nissan Foundation was created as a direct response to the civil unrest that followed the Rodney King trial verdict. At that time, Nissan’s then U.S. sales headquarters was based just blocks from the riot’s epicenter.

“In the 32 years since the Nissan Foundation was created, it has helped organizations – big and small – develop and grow programming designed to increase understanding and acceptance of what makes us different,” says Chandra Vasser, President of the Nissan Foundation and Nissan’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. “It’s an honor to uplift the important work of our grantees who are bettering our world by providing safe spaces to explore our similarities while celebrating our differences.”

The 2024 grantees include mobile education programs, museums, history centers, libraries, and other nonprofits promoting the many benefits that diversity brings to society. Each funded program aligns with the Nissan Foundation’s mission of building community by valuing cultural diversity.

“I am thrilled that we’re able to further the innovative programming of 44 grantees this year,” said Ali Tonn, Nissan Foundation Executive Director. “These organizations are continually coming up with ways to reach new audiences and share the benefits of living and working together in a diverse society.”

Among this year’s grantees is New York-based One to World. The Nissan Foundation supports the organization’s global classroom program whereby international students enter the classrooms of elementary, middle and high school students across New York,  New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania to share about their home country and culture. It’s a connection that yields mutual benefits.

Another 2024 grantee is Nashville’s Global Education Center whose Passports to Understanding school outreach program exposes youth to various cultural, ethnic and religious groups through concerts, museum presentations and performances. The program is designed to promote cross-cultural understanding and respect.

A third grantee is the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. Its Upstander Speaker Series showcases individuals and organizations that stand up for human rights on a local, national, or global level.

2024 Grant Recipients 

California

Autry Museum of the American West, “Autry Education Program and the American Indian Arts Festival” ($20,000)

Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum, “Connecting Cultures Mobile Museum Program” ($20,000)

Japanese American National Museum, “Family Festivals and School Visits Program” ($40,000)

San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum, “Stories of Us Gatherings and Access for All Admissions” ($10,000)

San Diego Museum of Art, “Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World Community Engagement Programming” ($13,400)

The Fowler Museum at UCLA, “Building Community through Intergenerational Conversations about Indigenous Ecological Knowledge” ($30,000)

The Museum of Us, “A Place for all of Us in San Diego” ($15,000)

USC Asia Pacific Museum, “Arts Education for Youth in Southern California and Beyond” ($15,000)

Georgia

Atlanta History Center, “Harmony of Liberation: Juneteenth Through Rhythm” ($50,000)

Catholic Charities of Atlanta, “Refugee Education and Engagement Project” ($10,000)

Fernbank, “Winter Wonderland” ($25,000)

National Center for Civil and Human Rights, “Hispanic Heritage Celebration and Free Admission Day” ($25,000)

Michigan

Arab American National Museum, “2024-25 Public and Educational Programming Series” ($30,000)

Detroit Educational Television Foundation, “One Detroit and American Black Journal”($50,000)

The Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, “Religious Diversity Journeys” ($30,000)

Zekelman Holocaust Center, “Voices of the Holocaust: Exploring History, Literature, and Social Justice in the Classroom,” ($25,000)

Mississippi

Foundation for Mississippi History, “Two Mississippi Museums School Visits Programs” ($50,000)

GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, “Soul of the Movement Education Program” ($50,000)

New Jersey

Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, “Indigenous Identities: Here, Now, and Always Exhibition Programming” ($21,800)

New York

Brooklyn Children’s Museum, “Cultural Festivals” ($25,000)

Brooklyn Public Library, “Culture Pass Branch Programming Hubs” ($10,000)

Children’s Museum of Manhattan, “Gateway to World Cultures” ($25,000)

Dreamyard Project, “Racial Equity Arts Liaison Project,” ($30,000)

Educational Video Center, “Celebrating Cultures through Youth Filmmaking” ($25,000)

Facing History and Ourselves, “Professional Development and Classroom Resources for New York Educators,” ($25,000)

Jewish Children’s Museum, “Public School Initiative (Bridging Diversity through Respect)” ($30,000)

The Jewish Museum, “Movies That Matter” ($30,000)

Midori Foundation, Inc., “Celebrate! Music,” ($25,000)

One to World Inc., “Cultural Understanding Programs” ($30,000)

Staten Island Children’s Museum, “Kidz Cook,” ($15,000)

Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, “Celebrating Our Traditions: Foundations for Building Communities that Value Religious Diversity,” ($35,000)

Tennessee

Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville, “Celebrate Chinese New Year in Nashville” ($10,000)

Discovery Center, “Kids First” ($70,000)

Frist Art Museum, “MARIA MAGDALENA CAMPOS-PONS: BEHOLD Exhibition Programming” ($30,000)

Global Education Center, “Passport to Understanding” ($25,000)

Nashville Public Library Foundation, “Conversations @NPL” ($50,000)

Nashville Public Television, “Next Door Neighbors: 2024-2025” ($75,000)

Native American Indian Association of Tennessee, “43rd Annual Tennessee Indian Education Pow Wow” ($25,000)

Oasis Center, “International Teen Outreach Program (ITOP)” ($25,000)

STARS Nashville, “Promoting Respect & Understanding to Support a Diverse & Inclusive Society” ($25,000)

Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, “InterNASHional Night Market: Celebrating Nashville’s Diverse Immigrant and Refugee Communities” ($25,000)

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee, “Stand Against Injustice: YWCA Nashville’s Lunch & Learn Series & Anti-Racism Challenges,” ($25,000)

Texas

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, “Upstanding Speaker Series” ($30,000)

National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum, “Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops” ($5,000)

How to apply for a 2025 grant

The 2025 Nissan Foundation grant cycle will begin in October. Nonprofit organizations working to bring diverse cultural perspectives, experiences and voices to communities across the country may be eligible to apply for a Nissan Foundation grant. These organizations must be based in one of the areas where Nissan has a significant operational presence: Atlanta, Central Mississippi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Middle Tennessee, New York City, North Central New Jersey, Southeast Michigan, and Southern California.

Those applicants based in a Nissan affiliate market who can demonstrate that their programming increases understanding and acceptance of society’s myriad cultural differences are invited to submit a Letter of Intent. Nissan will begin accepting those letters on October 1, 2024. All Letters of Intent must be received by 5 p.m. EST/4 p.m. CST on November 4, 2024.

The Nissan Foundation will announce 2025 grantees in July 2025. For more information about the Nissan Foundation and its application process, visit the Nissan Foundation page.

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